Apple planning easier upgrades for iOS, Mac OS X

Apple appears to be poised to improve the update processes for both iOS and Mac OS X. The company may debut direct, over-the-air updates for iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches beginning with iOS 5. Additionally, the Mac App Store could be the "preferred" platform for delivering updates to Mac OS X Lion.

According to multiple sources for 9to5 Mac, Apple hopes to debut OTA updates for iOS once iOS 5 launches sometime this year. iPhones, iPads, and iPod touches currently must be connected to a computer running iTunes to download and install updates. However, the iOS-powered Apple TV does not; it can update itself directly over the network. iOS 5 should enable this capability for iOS devices, potentially enabling iPhones to update even over 3G.

One issue that has made updating via iTunes a necessity is that iOS updates are usually distributed as a complete firmware image. The reason behind this is that iOS is digitally signed to ensure security, the same way iOS apps are digitally signed (and why whole apps must also be downloaded to update them).

9to5 Mac believes that Apple will enable iOS 5 to receive incremental patches, at least for minor point revisions. This would make updating via WiFi a snap, but also opens the door for iPhones to update directly over 3G, the same way other smartphone platforms can. Apple has reportedly been in talks with Verizon to enable OTA iOS updates via 3G on its network, though sources for 9to5 Mac couldn't say if similar talks were taking place with other carriers.

Since iTunes is also used to back up an iOS device before an update, it's likely that a service, like Apple's rumored iCloud, would be offered to back up data before applying OTA updates.

Once iOS devices can be updated OTA, we expect users will migrate to newer versions of iOS in greater numbers. We hear from a lot of friends and readers that users rarely plug iPhones or iPads in for syncing or backing up, and that tracks with our own personal experience as well.

Apple will also reportedly be transitioning the Mac OS X update process away from pesky old optical discs, and may in fact use the Mac App Store as the preferred method for distributing Mac OS X Lion. Sources for AppleInsider say that Apple will release Lion via the Mac App Store first, making it the de facto method for upgrading from Snow Leopard.

Apple has been using the Mac App Store to deliver test builds of Lion to developers. While this helps Apple better track who is downloading, it may be seen as a test of its ability to deliver multi-gigabyte files to millions of customers simultaneously—a source told Ars that the latest build was a 3.6GB download.

Distribution via the Mac App Store makes sense for two reasons. The first is that Apple has been transitioning towards digital distribution of software ever since the iOS App Store proved extremely popular. With the Mac App Store getting a similar reception, the company recently began accelerating plans to eliminate boxed software from its retail stores. The other reason is that one of the company's top-selling computers, the MacBook Air, doesn't include an optical drive. For users that only have a MacBook Air, a non-disc install option is paramount. Steve Jobs also called the latest MacBook Airs the "future of notebooks," so it's not unreasonable to think Apple may begin to eschew optical drives in future MacBooks and MacBook Pros to gain space for additional battery capacity or slim down the size.

Apple will still likely provide a disc-based install for Lion in addition to utilizing the Mac App Store. Not all users will have a broadband connection suitable for downloading over 3GB. And some users will prefer the security of having the update available on a disc in the event the OS needs to be reinstalled.

As noted above, however, anything that reduces user friction for getting updates installed is a net win. More users will upgrade, gaining the benefits of new features as well as bug fixes and security patches. With more users upgrading, developers can reasonably target newer OS versions, incorporating the latest features and using newer programming APIs which generally result in improved performance.

Due to metered bandwidth billing becoming the norm, using Apple products will no longer become a viable solution for many people. Hopefully they either keep distributing discs, or Apple somehow strikes a deal with ISPs.

I have plenty of bandwidth and I'm in no danger of hitting my 250GB monthly download cap at home, but I still rolled my eyes at the 400MB size of the latest iOS update. I've always wondered why Apple seems to be the only company left that can't figure out how to just patch something.

Not all users will have a broadband connection suitable for downloading over 3GB.

And until that day arrives, at least here in the US, I expect to see these big software packages available on some sort of physical media (DVD or USB stick). For something as foundational as the OS itself, I will always have some sort of physical option available for the foreseeable future.

I'm fine with small updates via the App Store, but a new, full OS? Give me a disc please. I reinstall and have found myself using the tools on the install discs a few times over the life of my '07 MBP. I will not be at all happy if the future upgrade path(s) will make it a hassle to get a physical copy.

As for the iOS updates, I like the sound of that. I only plug in my iTouch if I have new music to put on there or I'm traveling and have to charge it using my laptop. I wouldn't mind downloading via wifi, especially if they figure out how to patch things without a complete re-image.

Is there any word (for IOS5) whether or not Verizon will have the capability to delay or cancel OTA updates, ala WP7?

The only thing carriers could block or delay is updates over 3G. There is nothing they can do about updating over WiFi. The question is, can Apple negotiate a deal so the users can upgrade over 3G without it counting against the data plan.

Due to metered bandwidth billing becoming the norm, using Apple products will no longer become a viable solution for many people. Hopefully they either keep distributing discs, or Apple somehow strikes a deal with ISPs.

I'm sure there can be some kind of deal that phone OS updates don't count against your bandwidth..

And all I can say is it's about time. Apple's tethering to iTunes for updates, and demanding the entire multi-hundred MB upgrade for a single patch is archaic.

They really need to fix the "download the entire app to get any updates" problem with the App Store, as anyone who has used the pants on head retarded version of XCode can attest. ".0.1 version update? 4GB download". Also, you can't delete the installer because that's what is signed and authenticated by the store. Not the executable, the installer. And of course you can't have the installer be small and have 4GB of data, no, the installer itself has to be 4GB so that it can be a monolithic package.

I hope this is worked out for iOS users, though it seems like the sort of thing that would have been better to implement before ATT dropped their unlimited data plan. As an Android user I think OTA updating is a great feature, even if I end up plugging my phone in occasionally for custom firmware changes. Also, since OTA updates are the norm for Android and (when they work) WP7, how is the data usage for those updates counted? I'm not on a capped plan so I really don't know how the carriers would treat a large OS update file in terms of billing and caps.

9to5 Mac believes that Apple will enable iOS 5 to receive incremental patches, at least for minor point revisions. This would make updating via WiFi a snap, but also opens the door for iPhones to update directly over 3G,

That won't be annoying at all when you're in a low signal strength area... or going into a tunnel or elevator, etc. Or later in the day at work you look down and think "WTF did all my battery go?"

They really need to fix the "download the entire app to get any updates" problem with the App Store, as anyone who has used the pants on head retarded version of XCode can attest. ".0.1 version update? 4GB download". Also, you can't delete the installer because that's what is signed and authenticated by the store. Not the executable, the installer. And of course you can't have the installer be small and have 4GB of data, no, the installer itself has to be 4GB so that it can be a monolithic package.

Pants. On. Head.

+1

As for OS X Lion via the App store: I would really like that, but I would then also want a simple way to burn an install disk myself, because you never know (even with Time Machine)...

Not an important feature to me. If I'm doing a system update, I'd like to have a very recent backup and a reliable power source, just in case. I view plugging my device into USB as a necessity, not an inconvenience.

There is no way that I am going to sit for god knows how long watching a 3.6GB download. Nor is there any way that I will accept forced downloads of updates. I learned a very long time ago that it's good to let early adapters find the bugs and get them corrected.

It also occurs to me that over the air downloads might make it easier for Apple to break unlocked phones.

Of course, this could also be Apple rubbing MS's nose in the mess they've made of WP7 updates, heh. This is one time when Redmond really does need to get out those copiers.

What? like no one has ever done incremental patches before? I'm guessing you're happy that Apple has just now invented the concept.

Incremental patches have nothing to do with it. Apple didn't invent the idea of patches that actually go out to the users in a timely fashion either, but this is one idea that MS needs to relearn fast. WP7 has the possibility of turning into a great platform, but to do that MS needs to drop the nonsense about carrier-approval as fast as it can. This is one area in which Jobs' titanic ego has paid rich dividends for the users.

I don't care about anything Apple does until they stop getting parts from slave labor at Foxconn

So I assume you are also boycotting Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, HP, Dell, Samsung, and many others, right? They all contract Foxconn for components/assembly. Or are you just trolling, and not actually an ignorant buffoon?

There is no way that I am going to sit for god knows how long watching a 3.6GB download. Nor is there any way that I will accept forced downloads of updates. I learned a very long time ago that it's good to let early adapters find the bugs and get them corrected.

It also occurs to me that over the air downloads might make it easier for Apple to break unlocked phones.

Aren't you just a barrel full of pulsating ignorance.

What the hell are you talking about? 3.6GB download? For OS X Lion, yeah, it would be up there. iOS updates are ~600MB, not 3.6GB.

And who said anything about mandatory updates. Updates to iOS have never been mandatory, and there is no mention, whatsoever, of mandatory updates in this article.

Given that iOS updates have never been forced, and there is no indication that's going to change, why would over the air updates make anything easy for Apple that isn't easy now? Updates typically break jailbreaks already. It's updating... just like we have today. Only you don't have to connect it to a computer and do it through iTunes, as you have to do now. It may also potentially move to actual patches rather than monolithic installs.

EDIT: To clarify, the 3GB+ Lion download would be when you buy it from the App Store. You don't download 3GB+ when you patch OS X now, and you won't in the future either, simply because you bought it through the Mac App Store.

I like my iPhone 4, but man they really need to do something about the notification system. I really don't care about over the air updates, but the way it does notifications now is just dumb. Here's hoping for some big changes in iOS 5.

It's even worse with the iPad. I open up my iPad every night and am bombarded by reminders, push notifications, etc. Horrible.

I don't care about anything Apple does until they stop getting parts from slave labor at Foxconn

So I assume you are also boycotting Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, HP, Dell, Samsung, and many others, right? They all contract Foxconn for components/assembly. Or are you just trolling, and not actually an ignorant buffoon?

And lets not forget that Foxconn is far from slave labour, people choose to work there as its a lot better than working on the farm. And the money isn't really that bad in the scale of things.